1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of musical instruments and, more particularly, to an improved device for dampening the sounds produced by the drumhead of a musical drum.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Snare drums have unique characteristics that make them very different from a bass drum, tom-tom drum and various other conventional, modern and ethnic drums. Typical snare drums consists of a hollow body or shell with a drumhead covering either the top opening or both the top and bottom openings. The head that is struck by a drumstick or the like is called the batter head. Secured to the inside of the drumshell beneath the batter head is a snare assembly fashioned primarily of a plurality of wire strands held near or against the underside or inside surface of the batter head.
In order to vary the sounds produced by snare drums, a variety of devices or assemblies are provided to force or press the snare wire against the batter head to produce the desired sounds. These devices, which are usually structurally complex or cumbersome and/or often not very effective, include, for example, the devices disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,307,133; U.S. Pat. No. 6,586,664 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,010.
A search of the prior art has not disclosed any patents or published applications that read directly on the claims of the present invention. However, the following references, which also include the aforesaid U.S. patents, are considered relevant:
U.S. Pat. No.InventorIssue Date6,091,010Gary L. GaugerJul. 18, 20006,177,620Moris AlulyanJan. 23, 20016,307,133James H. May et al.Oct. 23, 20016,534,698Yoshihiro HoshinoMar. 18, 20036,586,664Francis P. HubbellJul. 1, 20036,700,046Wahan CherbettchianMar. 2, 2004
None of the devices in the prior art, including the aforesaid, teaches a snare drum dampening device with the improvements of the present invention, specifically a device which adjusts and varies the sounds of the snare batter head by incrementally moving the device slidably along parallel spaced apart elongated bars in contact relation with the snare wires to tension the wires against the drumhead.